Daily Archives: 28. September 2016

The Zone 2 Police Command in Onikan, Lagos have confirmed that mental evaluation would be carried out on all armed policemen.

The Assistant Inspector-General for Zone 2, CP Abdulmajid Ali said that the test would be done to maintain standards in the handling of firearms, and police activities in Lagos and Ogun states, the two states that Zone 2 covers.

The Police medical team arrived from Abuja and were received by the AIG Ali and he confirmed that the purpose for their visit was to make arrangements for the exercise. He emphasized that the test would assist in promoting principles of people-oriented policing as directed by the Inspector-General, Ibrahim Idris.

“Units such as the Police Mobile Force and the Special Anti-Robbery Squads are to attend a workshop which will mark the beginning of the medical exercise,” he added.

The medical team from Abuja comprised of experts and trained psychiatrists from the police medical department and the Melville Healthcare Centre in Abuja. The team was led by the AIG Medical, Stella Akintade.

Ghanaian-American author Yaa Gyasi joined The Stream on Al Jazeera on Tuesday to speak about her seven-figure book deal, Africa’s complicity in the slave trade, and the tensions between Africans and African-Americans in the USA.

Gyasi sold her debut novel, Homegoing, for over a million dollars. “I don’t know if anyone could ever see something like that coming,” she told The Stream’s hosts, Femi Oke and Malika Bilal. “This business is so uncertain. I think a lot of writers, a lot of artists would agree that when they decide they want to do this for a living they kind of sign away the idea of making any money, so it really did shock me and blow me away. On the other hand, I’ve wanted to be a writer my whole life, so it’s also been magical and beautiful that I’ve not only been able to do it but be able to do it in such a way that I’ve been able to reach so many people.”

The bestseller follows the family tree of two half-sisters born in 18th century Ghana, one sold into slavery and the other married off to a British soldier at the Cape Coast Castle.

One of the themes of the novel is Ghana’s complicity in the slave trade. “Everyone was responsible. We all were… we all are,” she writes in Homegoing

Her thoughts on slavery were partly shaped by a tour of the Cape Coast Castle in 2009 – “a very important centre both of colonialism and the slave trade… It was established as a trading centre generally but the main trade was the slave trade.”

She says she only visited the castle “because I was with a friend and needed touristy-type things to do… The castle, even though it stands only 52 miles away from my mother’s hometown, is not really a part of Ghanaian identity, Ghanaian experience

…. I had asked my parents if they had learned this kind of thing in school and they said no.”

Another major theme of the book is what it means to be black in the USA. On The Stream, Gyasi discussed the shared experience of being black in America, but also the tensions between African immigrants and African-Americans, with their different histories and lived experiences.

“The American dream is still very much denied African-Americans,” she says. “You still can have access to whole worlds as a black immigrant that you don’t get as African-American. I’ve certainly heard about how when percentages are given about how many black students are in a college, for example, typically there are large percentages of Ghanaians or Nigerians, or Haitians or Jamaicans or whatever, who also make up that group. Does that mean it’s denying African-Americans access to these same spaces? That’s a larger part of this conversation: what do we have access to and what don’t we have access to and what privileges are afforded African immigrants that aren’t afforded [African-Americans].”

She says she wrote the book primarily for herself. “I try not to write with an audience in mind. It’s easier before you sell your first book because you can imagine that no one is going to read it. For me, this book was very much a personal project. I wrote it because I was having so many questions about identity: ethnic identity, racial identity, what it means to be black in America. So if I was to give this book an audience it would be me in middle school, when I had all these kinds of questions.”

The management of the University of Ibadan on Wednesday has said it had no intention to make life unbearable for the university community.

This is due to the recent screening exercise introduced at the institution’s gates because of threats the school had received from an unknown group to launch bomb attacks on it’s campus. Security personnel have been searching students and visitors at the university gates.

Director of Communication for the University, Mr Olatunji Oladejo, said that the university was not taking the threat for granted and that it was the cause of security beef up in and around the university. Adding that the campus security service had been complementing the efforts of other security agencies in ensuring security on the campus.

“What we are trying to do is to avert any unpleasant situation in the university.” He said. Some of the students said although they were apprehensive about the situation, there was nothing they could do but resort to divine intervention.

Entrepreneur and former rapper, Percy Robert Miller a.k.a Master P hs announced he’s releasing a video game called Get Money.

Get Money is modeled after Rockstar’s highly successful Grand Theft Auto, and is being dubbed as the first “African-American minority-owned technology game”. The game would be available for Playstation, Xbox, PC and mobile apps.

Master P partnered with a team of Korean developers in 2010 and has announced plans to take the company, Get Money Video Game, public in 2018.

“Why are we not benefiting from this multi-billion dollar industry that has been created off of our lifestyle?” Miller asks via press release. “We have to expand our mind to technology. It is the new way to sell music.”

Set in New Orleans, the game will give gamers the option to play as either villain, hustler, cop, boss, or entertainer. According to the press release, “If you make the right choices, you get the money. But if you make the wrong choices it’s death, jail or destruction just like in the real world.”

Walt Disney Studios have announced today that they are moving forward with a live-action adaptation of The Lion King.

The studios also announced that Jon Favreau would direct the project, after the success of the rebirth of ‘The Jungle Book ‘, it’s not hard to see why they would turn to Favreau again. The film, according to Disney, will feature songs from the iconic 1994 film, but other than that we know nothing of what else would be brought back from the legendary animated movie.

This comes as Disney has found immense success in bringing back prior animated features for new films. The studio already successfully brought back has features like Cinderella, Maleficent, Alice and Wonderland, and Pete’s Dragon into live-action franchises.

Disney announce new Lion King movie

Also the much-anticipated ‘Beauty and the Beast’ comes next year with Emma Watson in the lead role.

The Lion King is still one of Disney’s most renowned animated projects and is ranked highly in terms of box office, raking in over $900 million worldwide. The liveliness of the CG animals in The Jungle Book was amazing. We can expect something like that in The Lion King as Favreau would be directing it as well.

A release date has not been announced yet. However, this past April, the company announced release dates for two unnamed live action films. These were for August 3, 2018 and December 25, 2018. So now we can only sit and hope one of those is for The Lion King.

A former Inspector General of Police, Sir Etim Okon Inyang, is dead, his family said on Wednesday.

Former Police IG, Etim Okon Inyang Is Dead

Although the cause of his death remains unknown, the family, in a statement in Abuja, said he died on Monday night at the Reddington Hospital, Lagos, at the age 85.

The statement, which was signed by his son, read:

“We write to formally announce the call to Glory of our father, Sir Etim Okon Inyang, Inspector General of Police (retd) which event occurred at the Reddington Hospital, Lagos, on September 26, 2016.

“He was 85. He joined the Nigerian Police Force on October 1, 1949. He rose through the ranks, becoming Commissioner of Police in Kano and old Bendel States.

“In 1984, he was appointed Inspector General of Police and served meritoriously until his voluntary retirement in October 1986. He was appointed Vice Chairman of the Constitution Review Committee in 1987.

“He was conferred with the National Honour of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).”

The former West Ham manager left his position as manager of the three lions on Tuesday after agreeing with the FA his position was no longer tenable, due to comments he made to undercover Daily Telegraph reporters.

Emerging music producer, Quebeat gives us a first taste off his debut producer EP with two singles – ‘Booty Treat’ featuring Iyanya and Ketchup; and ‘1 Jeans, 1 Shirt, 1 Shoe’ featuring new artists, Toby and Dapo Tuburna.

Quebeat, real name Olugbemi Oladipupo was born on January 25th 1993. He started producing music professionally at an early age and has since worked with several artists including Harrysongz, Olawale (Project Fame Winner, 2012), Skibii, Orezi, Dapo Tuburna to mention a few.

Both songs display the young producer’s versatility in creating music across different genres.

“I just want everyone to get familiar with my sound and enjoy the music that I make” – ‘Quebeat‘

British Nigerian musician Moelogo has been having an amazing year so far – from releasing his critically acclaimed sophomore EP Ìréti, which was championed by Apple Music/Beats 1, The FADER, BBC 1Xtra, Capital Xtra and MTV UK among others, to collaborating with Davido, Wretch 32 and Sarkodie, and selling out his debut headline concert at the renowned Birthdays earlier in the summer.

And Moelogo does not seem to be letting up anytime soon, as he has just been nominated for his second MOBO Award in two years, in the ‘Best African Act’ category, where he is going up against the likes of Wizkid, Yemi Alade, Tekno, Mr Eazi, Olamide and Tiwa Savage among others. You can now vote for Moelogo to make it into the final five nominations right here.

Along with the exciting news of his nomination for ‘Best African Act’ at the MOBO Awards, the man of the moment Moelogo is proud to announce his brand new single and collaboration with Adekunle Gold, who is riding high on the back of his amazing debut album Gold, and producer P2J (Burna Boy, Krept & Konan, Lola Rae) titled ‘Rora Se’, which will be released on Monday, October 3.

Residents of Edo state arrived the polling stations in large numbers across the state today to vote in a decisive election for governor in the state.

Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), also arrived early with election materials and were getting set to commence the conduct of the exercise.

At Fabiyi Akpata Primary School, Benin, many voters were present, while INEC officials and security agents were seen manning the units and maintaining order.

ACP, PDP, APC and ACPN agents in the six units said they were impressed by the conduct of the election and expressed hope that the exercise would be successful.

However, Premium Times gathered that violence erupted as voting progressed at Ikekato Ward 4, Unit 1, at Irua, Esan Central after supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress clashed during voting.

The attackers were said to be supporters of the PDP. This is even as the area is dominated by the party’s supporters.

It was also learnt that the violence also spread to units 1, 5, 6, 8 and 9 of the same Ward.

Security officials intervened to calm the situation, but the threats were still there as the thugs returned as soon as the police officers were gone.

They are nineteen candidates vying for the ticket to the Government House, but the main contestants are Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress and Andrew Ize-Iyamu of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Buhari’s New Change Ought To Begin With His Igbo Problem, By SKC Ogbonnia

For full disclosure, I am an Igbo man. I am also one of the pundits currently being lampooned for cheering President Muhammadu Buhari to democratic power. Yet, knowing what I know now, I will lend that support all over again—and even more. Unless we have begun to view the history from a tainted lens, the thought of the very alternative, which was to bring back Goodluck Jonathan, remains a portent of much bigger crisis. More relatively, I strongly endorse Buhari’s latest mantra: “Change begins with me.” And that is exactly what this piece is set to accomplish.

This piece was written by SKC Ogbonnia. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of 360Nobs.com.

Let me quickly wet the ground by first defining effective leadership as the ability of the leader to maximise the available resources within the internal and external environment and be recognised by the followers as meeting the expectations. Please notice that this definition has two components. One is for the leader to do a good job. The other, and probably more instructive, is for the leader to be seen by the follower as doing a good job.

Like every Nigerian leader, Buhari assumed the presidency with good intentions. The president is also working hard. Despite the economic mess left behind by the previous government, he is soldiering on with measurable progress on many areas. Regrettably, most Nigerians see the efforts as busy doing nothing. Accordingly, Buhari is making changes beginning from his very self. But there is one critical problem the General has continued to ignore that is firmly woven into the fabric of our current quest for economic revival: His Igbo problem.

For obvious reasons, the problem was initially waved off as a typical Igbo palaver. Sadly, it has now widened with untold social, political, and economic consequences. Before getting to the main gist, here is a cursory glance at the Igbo—just in case.

As one of the major Nigerian ethnic groups, the Igbo are the natural inhabitants of the South-East and some areas of South-South and North-Central zones of Nigeria. The people are predominantly Christians and uniquely boast of being the first or second largest population in most parts of the country. Known for their unique resilience, resourcefulness, can-do spirit and, of course, unbounded technological and scientific acumen, the Igbo represent the hybrid engine of Nigeria’s commerce. These diverse traits help in no small measure as they forge social, political, and economic influence around Nigeria.

But the influence is even beyond. The Igbo have embraced the reigning economic gospel that we no longer merely live in a country but in a world. Thus, with a heavy presence around the globe, they gleefully play a commanding role in the nation’s foreign exchange, foreign trade, foreign investment, as well as relationships. Not surprisingly, the Igbo in the Diaspora are a leading block contributor to the yearly amount of foreign money remitted to Nigeria, which is ironically more than the national budget. Very significantly, the people are one of the key drivers of Nigeria’s media home and abroad and thus have the potential to influence how the country is perceived anywhere.

The foregoing attributes are more than enough to discern that the Igbo is as important as any other ethnic group and ought to be carried along in the current change agenda of the government. Chinua Achebe was more eloquent in the book, There Was a Country that the perennial tendency to undermine the unique role of the Igbo in Nigeria “is one of the fundamental reasons the country has not developed as it should and has emerged as a laughingstock.” But events thus far suggest that Buhari might have been ill-advised to challenge the theory from the onset.

This apparent dissent is rooted in the 2015 presidential elections where a vast majority of the Igbo joined the South-South to vote en masse against Buhari’s winning candidacy. However, rather than use the historic mandate to rally the different political divisions towards common purpose, the president would shock the democratic world by revealing his plan to marginalise the zones that voted against him. Many pundits thought his statement was a mere gaffe. But the records afterwards seem to suggest that Muhammadu “Okechukwu” Buhari actually meant the threat of vendetta against the Igbo, particularly those from the South-East.

Critics are free to join here. But there is no gainsaying that the Igbo people are truly marginalised in the current scheme of things. As I had penned in October 2015, the upper echelon of Buhari’s government is a preview. “The underlying rationale in this case is that the positions of the President, Vice-President, Senate President, Speaker, Chairman of the ruling party, and the Secretary to Federal Government have been staked in the past 16 years as the main thrust of the party in power and thence rotated among the six political zones of the country.” Yet, the South-East was conspicuously denied its share. Moreover, it is no coincidence that the same South-East Nigeria, the mainstay of the Igbo nation, is the only zone without a personnel presence in the nation’s security leadership apparatus.

This outlook coupled with a stoic indifference by the president triggered outrage in the land. It straightaway provoked the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), then a sedate outfit, to declare “that Buhari is not seeing Ndigbo as part of Nigeria.” The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) was not to be left behind, as it heightened its call for secession from the country. Their activities, however, were met with brute force, including the detention without bail of its leader, Nnamdi Kanu. This plight is today commonly linked to the birth of a new militant group under the auspices of Niger Delta Avengers. We are all living witnesses to the economic repercussions of the Biafran movement and their Avengers ever since.

The title of this piece will not be apt if the empathy for the current wave of Igbo marginalisation did not flow past east of River Niger. Recognising that the ruling party treated it as business as usual, the opposition from the highly influential South-West Nigeria, led by the trio of Ayo Fayose, Femi Fani-Kayode, and Femi Aribisala capitalised on the saga to strike back. What just took place here, and painfully so, is that Muhammadu Buhari had inadvertently provided a lifeline for the corrupt brigade of the immediate past regime—from the East, North, and West—to resurface and now grandstand as latter-day fighters of what is widely believed as naked injustice to the people of the South-East. And what followed, thereafter, was a montage of propaganda that successfully painted the president as an unapologetic bigot determined to punish not only the Igbo but also the entire Christian-dominated South.

The development caught the attention of the Northern zone of the Christian Association of Nigeria, which lamented as follows: “while there were volumes of allegations from the South that the appointments made so far were in favour of the North, facts on the ground revealed that those appointments were lopsided in favour of Muslim North to the detriment of Northern Christian community.” More dauntingly, many blame part of the current crisis on Buhari’s economic policy, particularly foreign exchange, which is believed to be tribally skewed to specially benefit his Fulani kinsmen who control bureaus de change across the country.

Today, not only is the national economy in recession, the negative opinion of Buhari is growing beyond our shores. Although a number of world leaders showered praises on him during the recent UN session in New York for giant strides against corruption and terrorism, which is very gratifying, a creeping concern within the international community remains that Nigeria’s president is a dictator, tribalist, sectionalist, misogynist, and religious bigot—all in one person. This emerging view—whether real or not—explains why US Congressman Tom Marino, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, on a September 1, 2016 letter, would warn the United States to withhold selling arms to Nigeria until Buhari demonstrates true “commitment to inclusive government and the most basic tenets of democracy: freedom to assemble and freedom of speech.”

This spectre is gloomy, square. It does not bode well for an economy in recession. In short, it scares away investment whether local or foreign, especially in this era of economic globalisation where millions of Nigerians in the Diaspora, the Igbo well included, represent the convex lens through which the world sees Nigeria. This also goes to say that even as President Buhari might have done a good job in the area of corruption, the fact that he is generally perceived as condoning gross injustice in another area renders his entire effort pyrrhic.

The central problem is complex and thus difficult to capture at once. But the solution is quite simple. For every question raised in this essay sufficiently answers itself. Buhari has to simply trek back to where the rain started beating him and make amends. Allowing the problem to linger not only threatens the chances of economic revival but also the hard-earned change. Even if he is not thinking of 2019, which he should, Mr. President cannot feign ignorance of the fact that his queasy quandary with the Legislature has his Igbo problem written all over it. Very true!

Jose Mourinho believes Juan Mata has found a natural home in United, as he prepares to sign an extension.

There were rumours linking the midfielder with a move away from the club, in the same manner Mourinho offloaded him at Chelsea. However, the Spaniard has gone to become a key part of Mourinho’s squad at Old Trafford.

“[Chelsea] were playing in a defensive block when we won the title in 2014-15, and it’s one thing having players for that and another having players trying to play in a different way and we are trying to play in a different way,” said Mourinho.

“He is very adaptive with his qualities. He has found a very good natural habitat with us.”

Mourinho also defended his role in Chelsea’s decision to sell Mata to the Red Devils for £37.5 million in the winter transfer window in 2013-14.

“First of all, I didn’t sell him. My job is not to buy and sell. My job is to coach, to work on the pitch and to advise my board about the transfer policy.

“Secondly, it was Juan that asked to leave and when a player asks to leave I think always you have to think twice.

“And the third point is that my idea for football with the squad and objectives we had at Chelsea is one thing, and the squad I have at Man United and the profile and what I try to do with this club is a completely different situation.

“So Juan at Chelsea in my project was one player, and Juan in my project at Man United is another thing.”

Granada have sacked manager Paco Jemez after just six games in charge.

Jemez leaves the club 19th in La Liga and without a win to their name.

Jémez, who took charge only a few months ago, leaves the club after just six games in charge and will speak to the press at 14:45 CEST following his final training session. Granada B coach Lluis Planagumà is set to take charge of the first team until a replacement is found.

The timing of the decision is surprising – despite the club’s poor start – as it was believed that the board was willing to give Jémez more time to turn the situation around, starting with the home match against Leganés on Saturday.

A statement on Granada’s official website read: “After studying in detail the current situation and the results obtained, we have taken this decision unanimously.”

Granada, who have competed in Spain’s top flight for the last six seasons, will attempt to put their first win on the board when they host Leganes on Sunday afternoon.

The cover art for Davido‘s much anticipated project ‘Son Of Mercy’ has been unveiled by Sony Music.

The superstar shared the cover art on Instagram a few minutes ago with a message saying – “Whoever Tried To Count Me Out Cant Count.. Pre-Order S.O.M September 30th, Thanks To All My Fans & Family That Have Been Patient! I WILL NEVER TAKE A BREAK LIKE THAT AGAIN!! OBO”

The 5 track EP would be available for Pre-Order on iTunes this Friday –September 30th, It features production credits from Shizzi, Kiddominant, Spellz & more.

This is coming after Davido’s debut album – OBO (The Genesis) was released in 2012. Davido since followed up with smashing records like GOBE, SKELEWU, AYE, TCHELETE, THE MONEY & more.

Sam Allardyce has claimed “entrapment has won” after being forced to end his 67 day tenure as England manager following a newspaper sting operation.

The former Bolton Wanderers, Newcastle United and Sunderland boss was filmed appearing to instruct journalists from the Daily Telegraph, posing as businessmen from the Far East, about how to “get around” strict third party transfer regulations.

The practice was banned by the Football Association in 2008 and by Fifa, the world football governing body, seven years later, outlawing third party ownership to prevent external figures from “owning” the economic rights belonging to individual players.

Speaking to reporters outside his family home in the North West, Allardyce said: “On reflection it was a silly thing to do but I helped out someone I have known for 30 years.

“It was an error in judgement and I paid the consequences. Entrapment has won on this occasion and I have to accept that. The agreement was done very amicably with the FA and I apologise to those and all concerned in the unfortunate position I’ve put myself in.

“I have a confidentiality agreement and I can’t answer any more questions. I am going to go and reflect on it. I would like to wish Gareth [Southgate, England caretaker manager] and all of the England lads the best.”

Asked if the job would be his last in football, the 61-year-old added: “Who knows. We’ll wait and see.”​

The North East Coalition Against Terrorism (NECAT) has reacted with a denial to reports in some section of the media that Boko Haram terrorist group has hoisted their flag in some villages in Borno state.

Speaking on Wednesday, NECAT National Coordinator, Yusuf Mshelizza, described it as untrue and a total misrepresentation of the true situation in the affected villages.

He said “We however observed recent reports that insinuated that the terrorists hoisted their black flag in Kubirivour, Boftari and Kuburmbalah villages near Chibok in Borno state. This report caused such anguish and despondency among the populations of neighbouring communities, who became understandably agitated in fear that the terrorists were back. It is in the interest of these citizens that we deemed it necessary to set the record straight that no single village around Chibok is under the control of Boko Haram.

“It is true that Boko Haram has renewed its onslaught on some communities after recruiting some miscreants from the neighboring countries of Niger and Chad. These are the new cohort of fighters they are using to carry out hit and run attacks by first blending into the civilian population to beat military checkpoints.

“However, no single village was lost to the terrorists. They invaded these communities at night and were repelled by the military, which promptly intervened and saved the situation.

“From the much we gathered after interacting with residents of the affected villages we discovered that some confusion occurred in recounting the events of Monday, September 26, 2016. After thorough investigation and visits to the affected communities, we concluded it is best to convene this briefing to set the record straight.

“Panicked villagers under attack had sent out distress call to other communities. The initial news stories were written on the strength of this first accounts that detailed the carnage perpetrated by the terrorists. This was what was misconstrued as Boko Haram capturing the villages.”

In the same vein, the Army spokesman, Col. Sani Usman, on Tuesday, said:

“There is no presence of the terrorists in any of the villages talkless of hoisting flags as alleged.”

Usman, however, admitted that some remnants of the terrorists at about 4.35 p.m. on Monday attacked Boftari, about 15 kilometres from Chibok town.

Former Manchester City and Manchester United forward Carlos Tevez is contemplating retiring at the end of the year.

Tevez, who turned 32 in February, is back at his boyhood club Boca Juniors, whom he re-joined in the summer of 2015.

He is under contract until 2018 but has revealed that he may hang up his boots for good in December.

“Retiring at the end of the year is a possibility, I am going to think about it. It is a personal decision, it has nothing to do with football,” he is quoted as saying in AS. “I do not know how much more I have to give. The day-to-day side of football tires one out.”​

Sadio Mane has won the PFA Fans’ Premier League Player of the Month award for August and September, beating the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and Etienne Capoue.

Almost 78,000 votes were cast in the poll, which was held on the Sky Sports website and apps, with Mane winning with 38,199 votes.

Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne came second with 24,340 votes, way ahead of Watford midfielder Etienne Capoue in third with 6,256. Rounding off the top six were Diego Costa (4,247), Michail Antonio (3,116) and Curtis Davies (1,837).​

Manchester United are targeting a move for Sporting Lisbon winger Gelson Martins, according to the Daily Star.

Also Portuguese paper Record says his impressive form this season has come to the attention of Jose Mourinho. The Special One has had his scouts check out the 21-year-old and the reports have apparently been favourable.

That prompted Mourinho to step up his interest – but has also led Sporting boss Jorge Jesus to ask his board to renew the youngster’s contract, increasing his release clause from its current £55m to nearer £77m in the hope this will deter both United and Real Madrid.

Martins grabbed the wider attention of European football when he produced a sparkling display for the Portuguese giants in their 2-1 defeat of Los Merengues in the Champions League.

“In Portugal there is no one like him,” Sporting manager Jorge Jesus said about the speedster.​

There are strong indications emerging that four Nigerians will be among the nominees for the 2016 African Footballer of the year awards – which is organised by the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF).

Iwobi, Iheanacho, Mikel and Musa to be shortlisted for CAF Footballer of the Year awards

Ahmed Musa who made a record transfer to Premier League champions Leicester City is set to be in the list, alongside Chelsea’s Mikel Obi who captained Nigeria to a bronze medal finish at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Also on the list is Alex Iwobi of Arsenal FC alongside Kelechi Iheanacho who has been in a sensational form for both Manchester City and Nigeria.

Pierre Emerick Aubameyang of Borrusia Dortmund and Gabon is currently the reigning African Player of the year, but he will have to fend off challenge from the Nigerians to retain his award.

The list of nominees for the award is expected to be out in two weeks time.